Our population is increasingly being exposed to health risks. People can spread and contract serious illnesses by merely failing to wash their hands after touching seemingly innocuous items such as grocery goods, and they can develop life threatening diseases by picking up and handling improperly disposed waste. Moreover, viruses that were once thought to be confined to animals are infecting humans who come in contact with the sick animal or its waste. Public concern over sanitation is accordingly escalating and people are consistently adopting more stringent sanitary practices. This is especially true when they are picking up refuse or their pet's droppings, as they understand that direct or even indirect contact with the object could have serious health implications.
An extensive market exists for the collection of refuse and pet droppings. Common tools such as shovels and poker-sticks continue to be effective in some instances, but more modem devices are increasing in popularity. Some of the more well known and effective modem waste removal and pet “pooper scoopers” have a shaft with an actuating device that is used to clamp down scoops or shovels. These devices generally require the user to attach a bag in or around the scoops prior to picking up the targeted object. Variations of such products can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,733,098, 4,056,278, 4,148,510, 4,200,319, 5,056,842, 5,326,143, and 5,335,952.
But despite the ingenuity of the prior art, a user is inevitably required to have some contact with the scoop or shovel when unloading the packaged waste or when re-loading the new bag or cartridge. For instance, even if a disposable bag is placed over a device's scoop or shovel, the bag fits awkwardly and when the shovels or scoops are actuated, the user often needs to touch the bag to ensure the entire object is enclosed within it or that it is sealed. Still other devices that may or may not employ a bag often require the user to clean the scoops or shovels every time the device is used.